Emergency oxygen supply devices are required and prescribed for any aircraft used to transport passengers in high altitudes to allow supply of oxygen to a passenger in a decompression situation. Usually, such emergency oxygen devices comprise an oxygen source like a chemical oxygen generator or a pressurized oxygen tank which is coupled to a single or a plurality of oxygen masks via a valve controlled by a control unit.
In regular flight condition the oxygen masks usually are stored above the passenger in a ceiling compartment. This ceiling compartment may be the container explained beforehand or may be adapted to take up a separate container wherein the oxygen masks are stored. In case of an emergency situation a cover lid of said container opens and the oxygen masks drop out of the container and are provided to the passenger. The oxygen masks stay connected with the oxygen source inside said container via a flexible hose or tube or the like supplying the oxygen from said oxygen source to the oxygen masks or by an additional line or tether holding the oxygen masks at a predetermined level below the container. This allows easy grasping of the oxygen mask by the passenger in an emergency situation.
A general problem with such emergency oxygen supply devices is a safe release of the oxygen masks out of the container in an emergency situation. A plurality of adverse effects may occur in an emergency situation which may hinder such safe release. For example, heat or vibration may be present in the cabin and may thus influence a mechanical interaction of the cover lid with the latch mechanism. It is a first aspect of the invention to provide an emergency oxygen supply device which improves the safety and reliability of the release of the oxygen masks out of the container.
A further problem associated with the safe release is the aspect of energy supply in an emergency situation. Whereas on board of an aircraft a number of redundant energy sources are present to ensure a certain level of supply of energy even in emergency situations it is desired to reduce the consumption of such energy in an emergency situation to a minimum to not endanger important flight control functionality of the aircraft out of said energy sources. It is a further desire to reduce the overall energy consumption of peripheral devices on board of the aircraft in regular flight conditions, too. A second aspect of the invention is to provide an emergency oxygen supply device which provides a safe release of the oxygen masks under reduced energy consumption in regular flight conditions and in an emergency situation.